SONOFA...Turn signal issue, advice appreciated...

Okay, here we go again...just got everything else fixed. So, of course, something else has to turn up.

Right turn: right front flasher light and right rear flasher light turn on, flash, and I can hear the relay clicking. It does this at idle and at speed.

Left turn: left front flasher light turns on, left rear flasher light does not, the front light remains steady, and I hear no clicks from the relay. It does this at idle and at speed.

Swapping the bulbs between the two rear lights doesn't change the behavior at all.

I checked all the fuses; they're fine. This bike has had plenty of electrical issues - the PO took the fusebox out when he pulled the airbox, and replaced it with inline fuses. There've been loose wire issues, but wiggling them around a bit usually took care of them. Not this time.

So...what should I do?

 

Check the connections to the left rear flasher including the ground. Most likely where the problem is.

 

Check the wiring on the blinker that isn't working - swap the leads from the rear blinkers around and see if the problem moves to the RHS. If it does, the blinker wiring is bad.

 

+1. Start with the housing; take off the lens, take out the bulb and carefully inspect, clean if necessary and make sure nothing's corroded.

Follow both wires back to where they plug into the harness up inside the tail section. The easiest way to check everything up in there is to remove the tail cowling.
*caution* The cowling is held on with four bolts that go into little aluminum "hats" that fit thru the plastic. Don't lose those. There is also a TAB, that doubles as the latch for the access panel at the very rear of the trunk. This tab goes THROUGH a notch in the inside top flange of the cowling. You have to remove the bolts; reach in and open the access "door" (it pulls down toward you) and then slide the cowling forward until the tab clears the notch in the cowling. If you just yank the cowling out after the bolts are out you'll break it, or it won't come out.

Once the cowling is off, you'll see how the whole taillight - turnsignal system has all its connectors stacked up behind the little bulkhead. Easy access for cleaning/reseating connectors.

You may find it necessary to evict various critters that have taken up residence in the tail section. Take the opportunity to clean back there. You might even go ahead and replace ALL the bulbs while you're in there. How old are they anyway? Exactly. And cheap. Change 'em.

 

Thanks, guys. I'll dig into it as soon as I get home from work. For the moment, I've gotten fairly skilled at making one-handed left turns - good thing I remember all that "when-will-I-ever-need-this" stuff about hand signalling!

 

FIXED! Thanks, guys!

I swapped wiring on the signals, and the problem stayed with the left-side signal. So I pulled the signal, took the lens off, and tested the bulb with my trusty multimeter. Bulb tested good.

So I tested the ground wire and socket sleeve. Tested fine.

So then I tested the hot wire and the...hey. There's a hole where the conductor should be. What the heck...?

So then I pull the thing apart and pull the socket out, bringing the wires with it. I get everything apart...and for some reason, the wire connected to the center conductor had gotten pulled right through the plastic donut. No idea how or why - looks like it would have taken more than a little force to manage.

So I reassembled the unit with the conductor back where it belongs, put the bulb in, screwed the lens on, and tested the leads with the multimeter. So far, so good.

I put the signal back on the bike, plug the wires back in, make sure that the other signal is wired in properly...turn the key, test a right turn first...click-click, click-click, click-click...hooray!

Now, for the moment of truth...left turn....and et viola! Click-click, click-click, click-click.

I haven't the faintest idea how the wire got yanked, but if it hadn't been for y'all, I wouldn't have even known where to start looking to fix it. Thanks again!